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A review by boocwurm
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
5.0
“No woman should be made to fear that she was not enough.”
A feminist fantasy filled with magic, mystery, badass women and talking dragons?! Sign me up. The Priory of the Orange Tree was no small feat to finish, but it was entirely worth it. The world-building, the lore, the characters—everything built up to an immersive experience from cover to cover.
In a world divided, kingdoms are ruled based on the legends—and superstitions—of their ancestors. The West (AKA Virtudom) honors The Saint, a heroic knight who slayed an evil draconic being called the Nameless One and founded a kingdom ruled by a series of queens. The East honors dragons of the water, with a select group of warriors chosen to ride them in the oceans and the skies. The South honors the Mother, a fierce woman whose story has been muddled by Men and Virtudom for centuries. Priory follows four storytellers from these regions as The Nameless One’s threat threatens what they love most.
The start to this book is slow. You’re gradually learning about the narrators and their homelands, their motivations and desires, all while a massive cast of characters and unique beings are explained. But with each of the book’s six parts, the story picks up more and more, and by the last three sections, the story is like a runaway train barreling down a mountainside. The plot moves fast, and the characters’ paths intersect in creative ways, bringing the fragmented pieces of the story together and ending in one epic battle against good and evil. While Samantha Shannon excels in highlighting character relationships, she falls a little flat on the action scenes. In this case, I didn’t mind at all.
Not all of Priory’s narrators are created equal. Ead and Tané, women from the South and the East, were my favorites. They both had interesting backstories and took center stage in the world’s conflicts. Loth served his purpose in the story, but I didn’t find him nearly as interesting. Dr. Niclay Roos was by far my least favorite. If we had been given more of his backstory earlier in the book, I probably would have cared more about him, and I wish his character arc didn’t wrap quite so abruptly in the end.
By far one of my most favorite elements of the story is how awesome the leading women are. Ead, Sabran and Tané came together at the climax in a brilliant way, showcasing both their power and the power of the women who came before them.
TL;DR: If you’re interested in an adult fantasy set in a queer-normative world with dragons, a secret society of mages, political conflict, sapphic romance and comprehensive lore, don’t let the 800+ pages deter you. Read it.
A feminist fantasy filled with magic, mystery, badass women and talking dragons?! Sign me up. The Priory of the Orange Tree was no small feat to finish, but it was entirely worth it. The world-building, the lore, the characters—everything built up to an immersive experience from cover to cover.
In a world divided, kingdoms are ruled based on the legends—and superstitions—of their ancestors. The West (AKA Virtudom) honors The Saint, a heroic knight who slayed an evil draconic being called the Nameless One and founded a kingdom ruled by a series of queens. The East honors dragons of the water, with a select group of warriors chosen to ride them in the oceans and the skies. The South honors the Mother, a fierce woman whose story has been muddled by Men and Virtudom for centuries. Priory follows four storytellers from these regions as The Nameless One’s threat threatens what they love most.
The start to this book is slow. You’re gradually learning about the narrators and their homelands, their motivations and desires, all while a massive cast of characters and unique beings are explained. But with each of the book’s six parts, the story picks up more and more, and by the last three sections, the story is like a runaway train barreling down a mountainside. The plot moves fast, and the characters’ paths intersect in creative ways, bringing the fragmented pieces of the story together and ending in one epic battle against good and evil. While Samantha Shannon excels in highlighting character relationships, she falls a little flat on the action scenes. In this case, I didn’t mind at all.
Not all of Priory’s narrators are created equal. Ead and Tané, women from the South and the East, were my favorites. They both had interesting backstories and took center stage in the world’s conflicts. Loth served his purpose in the story, but I didn’t find him nearly as interesting. Dr. Niclay Roos was by far my least favorite. If we had been given more of his backstory earlier in the book, I probably would have cared more about him, and I wish his character arc didn’t wrap quite so abruptly in the end.
By far one of my most favorite elements of the story is how awesome the leading women are. Ead, Sabran and Tané came together at the climax in a brilliant way, showcasing both their power and the power of the women who came before them.
TL;DR: If you’re interested in an adult fantasy set in a queer-normative world with dragons, a secret society of mages, political conflict, sapphic romance and comprehensive lore, don’t let the 800+ pages deter you. Read it.